


Beauty

by Palizinha



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Beauty and the Beast Elements, F/F, minor sokai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22873996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palizinha/pseuds/Palizinha
Summary: To save her people, Xion makes a deal with the Witch.Skin Deep/Rumbelle AU.
Relationships: Naminé/Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Xion knew they had no other choice.

The castle was about to be attacked by Heartless, the Witch was their only option.

Rumor had it that she could wield the power of dark magic like none other. Dark One, some called it.

"I'm sure she will be here soon," Xion told Lord Even, her father. "I know she is our only hope."

"There is no more hope, my daughter," Lord Even said. "We are finished, as soon as the Heartless attack. I doubt the Witch is even real."

"Well, now, that's not very nice to say about someone," they heard a voice, and a girl was standing there where before there was nothing. "I'll have you know I'm more real than you'd wish."

"Witch!" Xion's fiancé, Vanitas, said, branding his sword like he did to most problems. "I order you to save us."

"You… order me?" The Witch repeated, looking amused. "I came here because you all asked for me, but you better have something better than gold to trade for my help. Tales of me creating gold aren't a mere legend."

"We'll give you anything if you save our people," Xion promised, knowing how dangerous such an offer was, but willing to believe for some reason that the Witch wouldn't take something from those who were already suffering.

"Anything?" The Witch asked, a smirk on her face. "I always like the sound of that!"

"Can you save our people?" Lord Even asked.

"For a price," the Witch looked around the room. "I know exactly what I want. Her."

Xion knew before even seeing that the Witch was pointing at her that she was the price. But what use did the most powerful being in the land have for her?

"The Lady is engaged," Vanitas said. "I won't allow you to take her."

"You won't allow me?" The Witch looked at him like he was beneath her, and Xion could understand the contempt on her face. "The Lady is the only one who can decide whether or not she'll take my deal."

"Will you save our land, and all the people in it?" Xion asked.

"I never break a deal," the Witch said.

"If that's the case, I accept it," Xion nodded.

"My darling, are you sure?" Her father asked, looking worriedly at her.

"I'll do what I must to save our people, Father," Xion said. "That's what you taught me."

"Then I'll accept your decision," Lord Even said with a resigned tone.

"I don't," Vanitas said, and Xion did as she had wanted to all along, she ignored him.

"I think there is very little you can do to stop me," the Witch mocked. "In fact, I don't think you could stop me at all!"

"If I am to go with you, please stop the Heartless now," Xion said.

"That's not a problem," the Witch summoned… a book? And started to do what Xion assumed was write on it.

Suddenly the sound of the Heartless, that had been heard by them all for as long as that war had lasted, stopped.

Xion couldn't quite believe it, this girl had managed to do in one moment what their army couldn't in months, like it was nothing. For her, it probably was.

"Is it over, then?" Lord Even asked.

The Witch smirked at him, and then apparently decided she didn't need to answer.

"Is the Lady ready to go?" The Witch asked.

Xion nodded, knowing that her freedom was over. If she was to be held captive by someone for the rest of her life, she was glad she at least got the opportunity to do so in place of her people suffering.

"Xion, wait," Lord Even said, and touched Xion's hand for what was likely the last time.

"I will miss you, father," Xion said, knowing she was about to cry but refusing to. She would not let the last thing her father ever saw her do was cry.

"Not to get in the way of… family, but we are leaving now," the Witch said, putting her hand on Xion's back and leading her out.

Xion supposed that action was just for show, since the Witch could likely just teleport them out of the room, but instead they walked.

Xion had to admit she was somewhat glad for it, since it meant that she got to walk through her land for the last time.

"Thank you for your help," Xion offered the Witch with a small smile, finally letting her tears fall now that they were out of the others' sight.

"You will regret this," the Witch said without emotion, but Xion could have sworn she saw the hint of something in her eyes.

"I don't think I will," Xion admitted. She had always wanted to be a hero, and was there anything more heroic than giving up her freedom to ensure everyone she cared about was safe?

"You have no idea what's coming, what I'm capable of," the Witch warned. "I have made men more powerful and brave than you cower in fear. You'll be living with me, and I'm sure you will soon share their opinion."

"What will I be doing, then?" Xion asked, and despite herself she feared the answer.

The Witch didn't answer, instead only finally used her magic to transport them to her home.

Xion had heard stories of the Witch's castle, but it was still enormous to see it. It was bigger than her family's castle, to say the least.

The Witch guided her into the castle, and Xion followed dutifully.

"We should talk about your duties now," the Witch said, not looking at her."

"What will he expected of me?" Xion asked once again.

"Cleaning, cooking, laundry, things I'm sure a noble like you has no experience with," the Witch said. "I also have prisoners here from time to time, you will be expected to clean the blood torturing them leaves on… everything."

Xion chuckled weakly, assuming it was a joke. "I will do my best."

The Witch looked at Xion but said nothing, before walking on. Xion followed her, trying to find out where everything was in order to do her job.

"I will be showing you to your room, try to remember the way, for I have better things to do than explain things to the help," the Witch kept walking, and Xion was only half-surprised when they walked into the dungeon.

"My room," Xion repeated with an eyeroll.

"Do not be cheeky with me now," the Witch warned. "I will let you rest for the day, get used to the new accomodations. Tomorrow, your work begins."

"Yes, mistress," Xion said with a nod.

Maybe that was never how she had hoped her life would turn out - she would never get to see the world - but it was her life now, and she would make the most of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Xion didn't quite know what to expect when she woke up.

Her cell wasn't comfortable, and it was likely the worst sleep of her life, even when compared to the fitful sleep that came with the war in recent months.

After taking a few moments to mourn everything she had left behind - because it felt like she hadn't done so enough, despite how long it had taken her to fall asleep - Xion got up and tried to remember the way to the kitchen.

She supposed she was expected to make breakfast, and the Witch hadn't been mistaken when she had assumed Xion didn't have any experience at doing so.

Oh well, she supposed she would just have to learn.

Xion walked to the kitchen and tried her best to make something edible, though she wasn't quite sure she had succeeded.

When she went to look for the Witch, she found her already sitting at the table.

"Oh, that's right," the Witch said with a smirk. "I forgot to warn you, during the mornings I only take tea."

Xion nodded, filling that information away, and returned to the kitchen for the tea. Thankfully, that was something she did know how to do, because she quite enjoyed tea.

Xion tried to eat the wasted food quickly while preparing the tea, and was somewhat surprised that the food wasn't that bad. Something more difficult than eggs would be a problem, but eggs were a start.

Xion approached the Witch with the tea, and served it to her.

"Well, this… actually isn't bad," the Witch sounded surprised, and it was the first show of emotion on her face that didn't look practiced and fake. It was almost endearing.

"I'm glad the tea is to your satisfaction," Xion said with a nod, waiting while the Witch drank.

They stayed in silence for some time - apparently the Witch was one to take her time with tea - and Xion found herself relaxing some. It wasn't ideal, but it wasn't bad. If her time with the Witch was always this calm, maybe this could work out.

She had thought so too soon, however, because after a while both of them heard a sound.

The Witch suddenly became angry and got up, and Xion followed her with confusion.

The two of them walked into a young man, who had clearly snuck into the castle. He looked up and realized he was caught, and instead of trying to escape, he decided to attack.

Xion could do nothing but watch as the man stabbed the Witch with a sword.

But the strangest part was what happened afterwards.

The man took out the weapon, like he thought the trouble was over, and got back to whatever he was trying to steal. But Xion hadn't taken her eyes off the Witch, and she was standing there like nothing had happened.

"Now, you really shouldn't have done that," the Witch took out her book and wrote something on it. The carpet on the floor started moving and trapped the man within it. "It's been a while since I've used my dungeon for more than just housing random nobles."

What followed was the strangest day of Xion's life. The Witch had locked the man in the dungeon and then just went on about her day like nothing had happened.

Xion tried to keep up with her duties, but she couldn't help but think about what was happening, why the man had been there, and what he tried to steal.

But the night… Xion hadn't been prepared for that.

After she went to sleep, she soon woke up to screams. Coming from pretty close to where she was. It wasn't hard to realize exactly what was happening. The Witch hadn't been kidding when she spoke of torture happening in the castle, Xion really was expected to clean up afterwards, wasn't she?

Xion didn't manage to sleep that night. Sometimes the noise stopped and she almost relaxed, but before she could quite forget what she had just heard it started back up again.

The next day had the Witch acting like nothing out of the usual had happened, and Xion knew she had to do something about it.

The moment the Witch claimed she was going to her potions room and wasn't to be disturbed, Xion went to the dungeons and found the man still there.

"Are you alright?" Xion asked, looking at him.

"Could you not hear the screams?" The man asked sarcastically, fight apparently still left in him.

"I brought you some water," Xion offered, and he was only too happy to accept it.

"I hope that was poisoned," he said. "Anything is better than weeks of this, and I know that's what she has planned."

"Sorry, not poisoned," Xion said, not one bit actually sorry. "I'm taking you out of here."

"What?" The man asked. "Won't she be angry with you?"

Xion shrugged, not quite able to think of what would happen to her. She said nothing and only freed the man.

"I'm Riku," he said. "Thank you."

"Leave, Riku," Xion said. "Before she realizes what I've done."

"She's dangerous, you should come with me. My sword is enchanted, so long as I want it to, it will kill the target even if it only grazes them. The fact that she survived that says something, and not something good," Riku explained.

"I gave her my word, I can't leave," Xion said. "Go."

Riku stared at her for a moment before making a decision and leaving. Xion hoped she would never see him again.

Riku left, and Xion went back to cleaning, trying to pretend nothing had happened.

It wasn't too long before she heard a scream coming from the dungeons, and soon the Witch appeared in front of her with magic.

"So, anything you want to tell me?" The Witch asked, and it was the first time Xion really thought she looked scary.

The Witch's white hair and pale features seemed more terrifying than usual, and Xion knew she deserved her fury.

"I did the right thing," Xion said. "I freed a man you were torturing."

"Because he tried to steal from me!" The Witch said. "Actually, not only tried. After you freed him, he took one of my fairy wands and left."

"Oh, I didn't think he would do that."

"I think it's quite clear that you didn't think," the Witch said. "Come with me, we're finding him, and now when I kill him, you're going to watch."

"Can you find him?" Xion asked.

"I can find anyone," the Witch said. "I have his sword, I can use it to track him."

"He said the sword is enchanted, it kills at wil regardless of whether the wound itself is fatal," Xion said.

"Then I guess he dies by his own sword," the Witch said forcefully before dragging Xion with her.

The two walked through the forest outside the castle for a while, Xion trying to keep up with the Witch's fast step.

"What am I supposed to call you?" Xion asked to try to distract herself from the fact she would soon watch a man die. She had been wondering that, anyway.

"You called me 'mistress' once, did you not? I think that's good enough," the Witch said dismissively.

"Do you not have a name?" Xion asked.

The Witch scoffed. "Of course I have a name, but names have power. I don't give out my name for just anyone."

They kept walking, and Xion saw Riku, standing alone in the forest holding the wand he stole.

"Why did he steal the wand?" Xion asked.

"For power, for money, for glory. Everyone likes to think they have a reason, but they don't. They are just terrible people," the Witch said.

"But he seemed like a good person when I talked to him, maybe we should find out what he wants first," Xion said, and then she saw a young man walk towards Riku.

They looked very similar, with the main difference being that the other man… looked like crap.

"He's sick," Xion realized. "That's why he stole the wand, to save his brother!"

"I doubt that's the only reason," the Witch said, and walked closer to Riku and his brother.

Riku saw her and instantly walked in front of his brother to protect him, even though he probably knew by now nothing could stop the Witch.

"You don't have to do this," Xion said, walking behind her. The Witch turned to look at her with an unreadable expression.

"Actually, I do," the Witch said, and threw the sword at Riku, the sword barely grazing him.

Riku looked at the small wound, probably expecting it to kill him anyway, but nothing happened. Xion threw a look at the Witch, trying to figure out what just happened.

Riku gave the Witch a nod and then used the wand to save his brother. The color returned to the young man's skin, and Riku hugged him.

Riku dragged his brother off, leaving both the sword and the wand behind. "Thank you," he said, and the Witch didn't react.

Xion watched them go and waited until they were out of sight before asking. "Why did you let him live?"

"I missed, is all," the Witch said dismissively. "I have better things to do than make multiple attempts at someone's life, he just got lucky."

"I don't think that's the case," Xion said. "The sword was enchanted, if he didn't die it's because you didn't want him to."

"The man could be wrong, and the people who died to the sword just had worse luck than him."

"If that's what you want to tell yourself," Xion teased, feeling herself relax around the Witch. "Are we going back, mistress?"

"Naminé," the Witch said.

"What?" Xion asked, not recognizing the word.

"My name. It's Naminé," Naminé said, and Xion smiled at her.

"Alright. Naminé," Xion said.

Naminé looked at her for a few moments and then turned to walk back to the castle.

It gave Xion the impression it had been a long time since someone had called her by her name.

Xion would make sure to do so often, then.


	3. Chapter 3

They had settled into life inside Naminé's castle.

Xion was getting better at cooking (however slowly), and Naminé always did her best to eat what Xion prepared, even things that Xion herself skipped.

"I'm making a deal with King Ansem this week," Naminé complained as she drank her morning tea. "Awful guy, truly hope you'll never have the misfortune of meeting him."

"If you don't like him, why are you making a deal with him at all?" Xion asked, hovering close to Naminé as she drank as always.

"It's not about whether or not I like him, it's about whether he can do anything for me. I may dislike the man, but he is useful," Naminé said, putting down her tea after finishing it.

"I don't get it, Naminé, if you think he's a horrible person, is it really worth it to do something for him, even if it benefits you?"

"That's why I'm the Dark One and you're the one who talks me into not killing people who steal from me," Naminé said and Xion had to hold back a smile. At least Naminé was admitting that now.

"But the fact that I can talk you into anything proves that you're not all evil, regardless of what you seem to think of yourself," Xion argued. She had realized quite early on that no matter if she tried to hate Naminé, it wouldn't beat how much Naminé hated herself.

"You're far too nice for your own good," Naminé said, dismissing Xion with a hand. "I'll be in my potions room until I leave to meet with Ansem, do what you always do and pretend to clean while I'm gone, and don't interrupt me unless you're dying."

That was new, usually Naminé only told her to not interrupt her for any reason.

Xion nodded and started to clean. While she liked cooking well enough, she didn't feel the same way about cleaning. Which made Naminé's claim that she only pretended to do so not entirely untrue. Xion was quite sure Naminé was using magic to do the actual cleaning in the castle.

Time passed, and Xion watched King Ansem walk into the castle, which went against Naminé's words, as she was the one who was supposed to visit him.

"The mistress of the castle is busy," Xion said.

"I need her help now," King Ansem looked right through Xion and kept walking. "Where is she?"

"Busy," Xion repeated.

"Look, I don't know who you're supposed to be and I also don't care, just tell me where I can find the Witch and I won't tell her to get rid of you. Unless that is what you want, in which case I'll be sure to tell her to keep at it," King Ansem said, finally looking at Xion.

She liked the man less and less at each word.

"She doesn't like being interrupted, if you'd like to invoke her wrath, feel free to keep walking."

King Ansem thought for a moment and seemed to realize that making Naminé angry was a terrible idea. "I'll just wait here, then."

"What do you want with her?" Xion asked, making sure not to use Naminé's name.

"Is it really a nobody's business what I want?" King Ansem asked.

Xion shrugged and kept cleaning, looking at Ansem from time to time to make sure he didn't try to do anything.

They stayed in silence for a while, until Naminé finally walked into the room.

"Ansem," Naminé said with a nod. "I thought I said I'd find you."

"Weeks ago! People say you haven't left the castle in ages, what are you doing here that is so important?" King Ansem complained.

That was a good point. While Naminé spent most of her time locked away in her potions room, the only time Xion had seen her leave was when they had went to find Riku. Which went against the stories she heard to the Witch before meeting her, where she was always looking for the next deal.

"I have my reasons," Naminé said. "Now, do you have what I want?"

"Shouldn't we speak privately?" King Ansem asked, looking at Xion.

"She is of no matter," Naminé said, shooting Xion a quick look she couldn't interpret.

"I got the prophecy," King Ansem offered it. "I assume you know where I can find my former Knights."

"Your little band of traitors is hiding away in Xehanort's lands. I do not care what you do to Dilan and Aeleus, but make sure they don't find out where you got your information," Naminé said, looking properly scary.

It was different, watching Naminé in her deals. Each of her words was practiced and it was like she didn't feel anything. Quite different from the woman who made jokes over a cup of tea.

Ansem accepted the information and left, leaving Xion and Naminé alone together.

"I like you," Xion said. "But I'm not sure I like who you are when we're not alone. It was like that in my family's castle as well."

Naminé stayed silent for a moment before sighing. "And what version do you think is the real me? Maybe I'm only trying to lure you into false security before doing whatever you feared would happen to you when we made our deal."

"You wouldn't have to," Xion pointed out. "Naminé, if you were going to torture me or anything, you would have by now. I trust you not to hurt me at this point."

"But do you trust me not to hurt anyone else?" Naminé asked, and Xion couldn't answer.

Despite how things with Riku had turned out, it didn't change the night she had spent listening to him scream. Naminé was dangerous, at the end of the day.

"I want to," Xion finally decided.

"You really shouldn't do this," Naminé said. "Having hopes for me. It didn't turn out well last time."

"Last time?" Xion repeated, but Naminé acted like she hadn't listened.

"We have another visitor," Naminé suddenly said, and Xion looked behind her to see if there was anyone in sight.

Xion waited, and a man walked into the room, a lazy smile on his face.

"Yo, Naminé!" He said with a wave. Xion felt weird at realizing he also knew her name, but couldn't quite figure out why. Naminé not telling most people her name didn't mean she never told anyone else.

"Axel, what brings you here?" Naminé asked, and Xion realized she was smiling. Xion could count on one hand the amount of times she had seen Naminé smile.

"I had business close, and decided to pay a visit to an old friend," Axel stopped and finally noticed Xion in the room. "Who is that?"

"Axel, this is Xion. She works for me," Naminé said. "Xion, can you make some tea for me and our guest?"

Xion nodded and did so.

Watching Naminé and Axel together was different. Naminé was more relaxed around him than around someone like Ansem, but that didn't mean she wasn't hiding herself.

"What's with the girl?" Axel asked. "I used to think you trusted no one with your own tea."

"Well, there is always an exception," Naminé said. "She makes good tea, so it does not matter. Axel, be honest with me. Do you need any help? It's not like you to pop over now that you abandoned business to get married."

"Isa's great and I don't regret leaving everything behind for him, but I gotta make time for the ones who got me here, especially you," Axel said.

Naminé smirked. "We sure have gotten through a lot of trouble together."

"Hey, Xion, is it? Look after this one," Axel said, looking at her. "She likes to think she's invincible and that could be true, but she's not very good at protecting herself."

"I'll do my best," Xion said with a smile. She liked Axel. He was nice.

"I don't need to be looked after," Naminé complained, but she seemed happy, Xion guessed at the fact that there were people who cared about her.

"Xion, can you prepare a third cup?" Naminé asked.

"Are we expecting anyone else?" Naminé seemed to be able to tell the moment someone walked in (which brought up the question as to why she had let Ansem wait), so maybe there was a new visitor.

"Actually, I thought it could be for you," Naminé said, looking very intently at her own teacup.

Xion tried to hide her surprise and nodded. It was nice, to be able to drink tea with Naminé. She hoped it wouldn't be the only time.

"Have you gotten anywhere in… that?" Axel asked.

"I have a new lead, received today," Naminé said. "I have hopes this one will lead somewhere. But I thought we had agreed to not mention this again."

"Look, it doesn't have to be me, but you should talk about this with someone, one century is enough to…" Axel trailed off.

One century? Xion knew Naminé had been around for a while, but that was certainly a lot.

"I do not need help, Axel," Naminé said, closing off. "If that's why you came here, don't bother."

Axel seemed annoyed, but didn't look surprised.

"When you figure out you can't do this by yourself, call me," Axel finally said, getting up and leaving, his tea only half drank.

Xion tried to figure out what Naminé was thinking, but she had no idea.

"I want to be alone for the rest of the day, distract yourself by doing whatever you want," Naminé said, and Xion could do nothing but nod.

Naminé was hiding something, and maybe it wasn't any of her business, but Xion wanted to find a way to help somehow.

It felt like the right thing to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Naminé had been different since Axel's visit.

She had never been exactly approaching, but it had gotten worse after that.

Xion guessed the whole thing had brought up past wounds, but it still was weird that Naminé had gone from barely leaving her potions room to barely being in the castle at all.

Despite her hopes to get to talk to Naminé more, by the time she woke up during the past week Naminé was already out.

It was weird to make tea only for no one to drink it, but Xion thought it best to keep fulfilling all her duties, just in case Naminé decided to show up.

"Don't get up to make me tea for a while," Naminé said, walking fast into the room. "I have a new lead I want to follow and I'll be out for a few days."

"Because you have been around so often recently?" Xion couldn't help but say.

"I don't think I owe you an explanation of my whereabouts. You just work for me. And I could very well kill you if you annoy me too much," Naminé threatened.

Xion rolled her eyes, by this point being more than aware that at least when it came to her, Naminé was mostly all bark.

"Thank you for warning me," Xion decided on saying.

Naminé stopped and turned to look at Xion, like she couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Right…"

"I hope you find what you're looking for, Naminé," Xion said.

Naminé averted her eyes, but Xion could see her look down. "Me too."

It was the most sincere thing Naminé had ever said to her, and it made Xion wish she would succeed even more.

With any luck whatever she was doing wouldn't hurt anyone.

Xion looked at Naminé until she left, once more puzzling over the mysteries of that woman.

"Can I go with you?" Xion asked. She missed being out, and considering the Riku thing, she was allowed to as long as she and Naminé were together.

"One would think you'd enjoy not having me around," Naminé pointed out.

She wasn't wrong, but in Xion's eyes it was better being with her than being alone.

Sometimes she really missed her father.

"Can I?" Xion repeated.

Naminé seemed to think it over for a while. "Not this time. Maybe you could be useful in the future."

Xion nodded, accepting that. "Alright."

It wasn't a confirmation, but at least it kept the option open.

"Do you miss it?" Naminé asked. "Your home?"

It was a weird question. "Of course I do. My father and my people were my life, it's not easy to just let it go. But I made a promise and I'm sticking to it, so you don't have to worry about me trying to run away or anything."

"I wouldn't try to run if I were you," Naminé said simply, and it made Xion wonder whether there were any traps should she really try to escape. Only more reason not to.

"Have a nice trip, Naminé," Xion said.

Naminé nodded awkwardly and left.

Xion waited for a few days, only cleaning the castle and only making food for herself (which was proving more successful than one would have thought). But when it turned into a week, Xion started to worry.

There was nothing she could do, so she simply waited.

And when Naminé did come back, Xion knew she hadn't worried for nothing.

Naminé was very pale, always, which alongside her white hair and white clothes made her look kind of like a ghost. But if Xion had thought she looked pale before, it didn't match what she looked like now.

Naminé's white clothes were full of blood, presumably her own, and she looked like crap.

It made her remember what Axel had said, about her not looking after herself very well. Xion wondered whether her showing up at her castle full of her own blood happened a lot.

Xion let go of the broom she was holding to try to help Naminé up, when it became clear she was about to fall down.

"Where's your room?" Xion asked, helping Naminé walk.

"Don't really have one, just help me up to the closest room," Naminé said, with certain difficulty.

They went, and Xion helped Naminé lie down.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Xion asked. "I thought you were immortal."

"Being immortal doesn't stop one from getting hurt. I should be fine soon, but it will be a painful journey there," Naminé said. "You want to help, go into my potions room and take the one labeled 'for hurts of flesh'."

Xion's eyes widened, too used to steering clear from the potions room, which was probably the only room in the castle she hadn't been to.

Xion nodded and prepared to go, opening the door to leave.

"Xion," Naminé suddenly said, and Xion stopped in her tracks. "There's a small room inside the potions room. Don't open the door to it."

Xion had truly meant to obey her.

But when she walked into the potions room, the smaller room's door was open, and as she looked for the right potion, she accidentally sneaked a look in.

There was someone in it. Sleeping.

Xion tried not to pay attention to that and just left, but as she watched Naminé drink the potion, she couldn't help but think about that new layer in the Naminé mystery.

The man couldn't be older than 20, brown hair all over his face. He looked peaceful, but Xion couldn't say for sure what had been done to him.

"What happened during your trip?" Xion asked.

The little color that Naminé had in her face was returning, and she seemed overall better. "There's a creature whose eyes I need for a potion, but they're tough to fight. Magic doesn't affect them, and I'm not much for physical things. I should have prepared better."

"Couldn't you make a deal for someone to kill it for you?"

"No time," Naminé snapped, but then thought better about it. "I suppose I don't have another choice, I'll have to wait until I find the right hero."

"Even heroes are desperate enough to make deals with you?" Xion wished they had had a hero instead of just Vanitas, then maybe they could have beaten the Heartless without Naminé's help.

Vanitas had become her fiancé with the promise he would win the war for them. He had a reputation as a hero, despite what many said about his temperament. As Xion had gotten to know him, she had decided he wasn't a hero. No hero would treat others the way he did.

"Everyone wants something. A heir, a girl, a difficult enemy beaten. And they're willing to give up whatever is necessary to get what they want," Naminé said. "That's what I like about you. Lesser beings would have offered up someone else in their place."

"Would you have accepted that? If I had just told you to take a commoner in my place?" Xion doubted that, not that she would have done so otherwise.

"I'm honestly not sure if you are what I wanted out of that deal," Naminé said softly, and Xion couldn't quite understand what she meant. "I'm sorry, pain potions tend to make one emotional."

"It's alright, I like it when you talk to me," Xion said honestly.

"You are a weird girl," Naminé said, but she didn't seem mad about that. That was different from the way Vanitas and others had said those words. They had seen being weird as a bad thing.

"So I've been told," Xion reached out to take Naminé's hair out of her face.

Xion tried her best to clean Naminé’s wounds, going from what she had seen and done during the war, looking over to make sure she wasn’t hurt anywhere else.

“My magic is weak, which means my protections in the castle are weak as well,” Naminé said. “If you want to run, now’s the time. I can’t stop you.”

“Are you offering me an out?” Xion asked surprised.

“No, I’m going to find you, but you could at least make it fun for me,” Naminé was teasing her, so Xion supposed she was truly feeling better.

Sometimes Xion did wonder whether she could escape, but at the end of the day it wasn’t worth it. Naminé was the most powerful witch in the land, if she escaped, Naminé would just find her, as she just admitted. But she hadn’t lied when she said she wouldn’t, it wouldn’t feel right to break her part of the deal when Naminé had done her part so well.

“I think I like being on your good side better than being your prisoner,” Xion said.

“And here I thought the dungeon made it pretty clear that that’s exactly what you are,” Naminé pointed out.

Which was true enough. Xion did still sleep in the dungeon. But she was pretty sure Naminé didn’t actually check whether or not she was sleeping there or in any other room in the castle, of which there were many. Xion hadn’t gone against any of Naminé’s rules, but most of them she knew Naminé wouldn’t actually balk at. Which is why it was for the best that she didn’t mention accidentally looking into that room, she was sure that one could land her in trouble.

“I should let you rest, call me if you need anything,” Xion said after making sure she had done all she could to help. 

As Xion left the room, she heard Naminé whisper "that girl's a puzzle". It made her smile.

Naminé was just as big a puzzle, after all. And there were few things Xion liked doing as much as solving those.


	5. Chapter 5

Xion had kept going back into the room she had taken Naminé to for the next couple of days, and Naminé kept looking better. They talked sometimes, but Naminé never said much of importance, which just made Xion more curious about that boy, even if she knew better than to reveal she knew about him. Whatever the secret was, it was something Naminé clearly didn’t want her to know.

“Xion,” Naminé walked into the room, once more apparently finding her the moment she wanted to.

“Naminé, you’re up!” Xion said, looking over at her to make sure she wasn’t hiding her injury or something. She had apparently finally taken the blood out of her clothes, and if Xion hadn’t already known she had been hurt, she wouldn’t have found out. “You heal quickly.”

“Yes, well, not all curses are inherently bad,” Naminé said. “I need to go back into my research now that I’m better, and I’m taking you with me.”

“Shouldn’t you wait a couple more days? You could barely walk when you got here,” Xion said, still a bit worried. It had been strange to watch a woman she used to think was invincible in that state.

Naminé looked at Xion weirdly, but then seemed to decide something and just shook her head. “I need to find a hero to do what I want, which is why I need your help. Heroes are often too… noble, think that the service they provide to me as a price will cause someone else harm. Quite a bit like you, I imagine.”

“Are you calling me a hero?” Xion asked with a smile.

“I thought that was already established. Only heroes would do what you did. You wouldn’t believe the amount of nobles willing to let their people die because the price was a little too steep, and I don’t usually ask for them to start working for me.”

“Thank you, then. I always wanted to be a hero,” Xion said.

“Considering what I need help with, it would only further your hero status,” Naminé had a faraway look in her eyes, and Xion once more thought about the other person in the castle.

“So you want to help someone, then?” Xion asked. Perhaps he couldn’t wake up, he certainly hadn’t moved during the time she looked through the room to find the right potion.

“What I want is to undo one of the worst actions of my life. Which would help someone, indeed,” Naminé said, being surprisingly honest.

“I’ll go with you, then. What do you need?”

“The hero I have my sights on is a… somewhat complicated one. His name is Terra, and he is as strong as he is naive. I have messed with him in the past to further my own ends, and I was hardly the only one. I need him to be honest, and taking an honest young woman with me will go a long way to that,” Naminé explained.

“Sir Terra? I’ve heard about him. He is the one who secured King Xehanort’s power, right? I remember King Ansem was quite torn up about it when he last visited my father, something about losing lands,” Xion said. She had never seen much of King Ansem, but her father often talked about him, and she had seen him in passing a couple times. He was her father's King, after all.

“Ansem isn’t a good person, but Xehanort is worse. Terra likely regrets helping him, because he’s surely learned that by now, but yes. Terra was one of his Knights, before leaving everything behind a year ago,” Naminé said. “Xehanort convinced Ansem’s own Knights to betray him, and did so by threatening them with Terra. Not many people would stand a chance in combat against him. Luckily, neither would most creatures.”

“But it comes with a price. What does he want that you can provide him with?” Xion asked.

“That’s where you come in.”

Xion looked at Naminé a bit confused, but soon she had a book out and used it to transport them somewhere else. Looking around, Xion saw a man she assumed was Terra.

“Talk to him. He needs something, now that he’s ran away from Xehanort, and you are going to find out what,” Naminé said, but when Xion tried to follow the voice she didn’t see anyone.

Great, Naminé could turn invisible.

Xion walked up to Terra, and he did certainly look like a hero. Vanitas had too, of course, so that didn’t say much, but she had a better feeling about him.

“Is there anything I could help you with?” Terra asked, looking at Xion as she walked closer to him. “You don’t look like you’ve been traveling, but I’ve never seen you around this village before...”

“It’s a long story,” Xion chose to go with instead of just lying.

“Is that so?” Terra asked with a smile. “I suppose we’ve all got long stories around here.”

“You were a Knight, were you not? And yet here you are, living just like the rest of the village. Hiding,” Xion said.

Terra looked away, his hand going to the sword he still had with him, even after leaving his knighthood behind. “I do what I can to help. I know I should do more, but… I don’t want to attract much attention. I’m afraid my old King would be angrier were he to know I’m happy.”

“So you are happy?”

“It’s complicated. I could be happier, I suppose, but I’m a traitor. I should have stayed and helped my King, regardless of whether I disagreed with his actions. But I didn’t stay, and now I want to ask the woman I love for her hand in marriage, and I can’t out of fear Xehanort will find me and kill her in retaliation,” Terra explained, and Xion was surprised he was sharing that much with a complete stranger. For all he knew, she could be Xehanort’s spy. But she supposed Naminé did say one of his flaws was being too naive, and at least he hadn’t said the woman’s name.

“Then I guess I’m happy to help,” Naminé suddenly said, and Xion jumped. Naminé was visible again, putting on the show she did around everyone but Xion herself and apparently Axel.

“Witch!” Terra said, but didn’t try to attack her, likely knowing it wouldn’t work.

“It’s been a while, Terra,” Naminé waved at him. “I couldn’t help but overhear you’ve been having troubles, and you know what I’m like. Always looking for the next deal.”

“Last deal I made with you, I wound up running away and hiding like a coward.”

“But you found out the truth!” Naminé said. “Terra, you can’t tell me you would rather still be working for a man like Xehanort, would you? Besides, this deal is quite simple. You defeat a creature for me, and in return I will make sure everyone in Xehanort’s kingdom forgets who you used to be. You can find this woman and be happy, with no worries. Tell me, is fighting something a heavy price to pay?”

“That’s it, no hidden meanings?” Terra asked. “Sounds too good to be true, coming from you.”

“Maybe my clients aren’t the only ones who get desperate from time to time,” Naminé said, and Xion knew that part wasn’t just for show. Whatever Naminé wanted, it was something she had wanted for a long time, and is now closer to getting than ever.

“I’ll help, then,” Terra finally decided.

Naminé clapped her hands together, and Xion barely saw her teleport all three of them somewhere else.

“You work for her?” Terra asked after realizing she had gone with them as well.

“Part of that long story,” Xion said.

“That cave is where it is waiting for you,” Naminé pointed. “I trapped it there, but I couldn’t defeat it. I know you can.”

Terra nodded and went inside.

“What happens if he doesn’t return?” Xion asked.

“We’ll find someone else. But I trust he will succeed. Terra may be a good guy, but he’s also strong. He probably could have won that war for you, were he to have become your fiancé instead of that showy guy,” Naminé said, with a bit of distaste. “I assume that’s why you two were engaged? He doesn’t seem like your type.”

“You’re not wrong. I never quite liked Vanitas,” Xion admitted. “Father taught me to value intelligence, I learned to enjoy books over most things from him, and then Vanitas comes around and talks about how it’s not a woman’s place to read. But I put the needs to the people over my feelings.”

“A bit like our deal, then,” Naminé said. Xion nodded, both of those decisions had been rather similar, despite how most people would probably see it differently. “I’m glad you didn’t marry that oaf, you deserve better than that. You like books, then?”

Xion raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Books. Your father is quite the reader, and apparently so are you?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure why this is relevant,” Xion said.

“You’re right, it’s not,” Naminé nodded and said nothing else as they waited for Terra to come back.

Not too long after, he returned, obviously victorious.

“Did you just need it dead?” Terra asked.

“I want to use his parts for potions,” Naminé said, being vague. She then summoned a potion to her hand. “Drink this. Everyone you want will forget you ever existed, but the people you want to remember you won’t. You should wait until I send you back before drinking, because it’s possible I’ll forget you as well.”

Terra took the potion and nodded at Xion before being sent away, and Naminé got into the cave to get what she needed before returning to take them back to the castle.

“Nothing quite like a work well done,” Naminé said as they walked in, looking happier than Xion had ever seen her.

Xion watched her go - likely to her potions room - with a grin, before going back to work. Naminé was in a good mood, and she would prefer for that not to change.

It wasn’t too long, however, before Naminé returned, still happy and looking like she was hiding something.

“I want you to see something,” Naminé said, taking Xion’s hand and leading her through the castle.

Xion went along, not entirely sure where Naminé could take her that she hadn’t already seen. And sure enough, the room Naminé was leading her to was one she was familiar with, a big empty room Xion didn’t understand why Naminé had never done anything with.

Except that when Naminé opened the door, that wasn’t what was inside. Instead, there was a huge library, and Xion looked at it surprised.

“I have no idea how you’ve missed this, but as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work you’re welcome in here whenever you want. You could sleep here as well, if you were to want to, I opened up a little place for that,” Naminé said, trying her best to look like this was normal and failing.

Xion looked down at Naminé’s hand still in hers and squeezed it. “I know this wasn’t here before, you made it for me, didn’t you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Naminé said, but there was an odd blush on her face.

Xion grinned and looked at the room. If she already did her job pretty badly, it was definitely about to get worse. And despite what Naminé said, she probably didn’t actually care about that.

“Thank you,” Xion said, looking intently into Naminé’s eyes.

A flash of blue passed through Naminé’s yellow eyes, and Xion’s smile widened even more.


	6. Chapter 6

Naminé had been in a very good mood lately, from the little Xion got to see of her.

She spent most of her time in the potions room, from what Xion could tell, and while that wasn’t unusual, Xion knew she was working to create whatever potion she had needed that creature’s parts for. And she knew that potion was likely to have something to do with the sleeping man Naminé kept in the castle.

Xion had always been a bit too curious, and she couldn’t help but wonder what the story there was. She knew better than to ask Naminé about it, of course, because Naminé still didn’t know she was aware of it, and it was best that she remain that way.

Whatever the secret was, it was something Naminé had kept hidden for a reason, when she was usually pretty open about what was in the castle. She had never forbidden Xion from stepping foot anywhere else, at least.

But no good thing lasts forever, and Naminé let out a scream Xion was sure everyone in the world probably could have heard, and she suspected it had to do with what she was working with.

The castle was eerily silent for a while after that, but in the next morning (the only time of the day Xion was seeing Naminé in since she started to work in that potion), Naminé just held her teacup, without drinking from it.

“Are you alright?” Xion asked over her own cup, because taking tea together had become the new normal.

“I had a setback. But I’ll make it right, it’s enough that it has taken me this long to,” Naminé said, and Xion knew whatever happened had been a big deal.

“Is there any way I can help?”

“If I can’t do it, it stands to reason neither should you,” Naminé said. And as she was talking of creating a potion, she was likely right. “I’ll do it soon, anyway. Nothing to worry about.”

“But you are worrying about it,” Xion pointed out. And then, because she apparently needed to act stupid… “Is this about the sleeping guy you keep hidden here?”

Xion regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of her mouth, but she had been curious for too long, and Naminé wouldn’t hurt her, would she?

Naminé’s eyes widened and she looked shocked at Xion. “How did you find out about that?”

She looked quite scary.

“The… the time you had me go into your potions room? The door to the room where you keep him was open. I didn’t say anything because you had asked me to not look inside, but… whatever happened, I think you need to talk about it,” Xion decided it was best to be honest, this time.

“People keep telling me I need to talk about it,” Naminé said, and then got up, letting the teacup she was holding fall. “I don’t! It’s my fault, and it’s not anyone else’s business!”

“I don’t mean to… look, I just think if you’re sad because of this, you shouldn’t keep it inside, alright? And I work for you, so it’s not like I would proceed to tell anyone else. But… you shouldn’t have to go through this alone,” Xion said.

Naminé didn’t say anything, so Xion went and got the teacup Naminé had let fall. It was chipped.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Naminé finally seemed to have decided. “And just because you went against my orders, accidentally as it may have been, you’re back at sleeping in the dungeon for a week.”

“Okay,” Xion agreed. It could have been much worse. “I want you to know that if you change your mind and do want to talk about it, you can always come to me.”

“Why do you care about me?” Naminé asked.

“I don’t know,” Xion said, honestly.

For all that she thought she could have done a lot worse than this deal - marrying Vanitas, as an example - it was still a complicated situation to be in, and not at all what she had always dreamed of. But… you had to make the best of a bad situation, and Xion liked Naminé. She was funny, and she was a puzzle to be solved, and Xion liked that.

“I’ll just… I’ll just go, alright?” Naminé said, and Xion wondered what was going through her mind. “I need to keep working on this, if it’s the last thing I do.”

Xion watched Naminé leave, and tried to think about how she really felt about the mistress of the castle.

Naminé wasn’t a nice person, most of the time, but she was nice to her. Xion had felt afraid of what would happen if Naminé had found out she knew about him since she accidentally sneaked a peak, but the result hadn’t been anywhere near as bad as she had feared.

Naminé trusted her with her own name, when it seemed the only other person to know it was Axel. And God only knew what her relationship with that man was, outside of the fact that they apparently went way back.

There were so many things Xion wanted to know about Naminé, if she would only be honest with her, and… it hurt that she wouldn’t.

Xion looked at the chipped teacup she was still holding and wondered whether Naminé was going to be alright, if she ever managed to do what she was trying to. Naminé didn’t like herself anywhere near enough to not be willing to sacrifice herself to do what she thought was best, and Xion was scared of losing her.

Because… because Xion enjoyed having Naminé in her life. For all she wished some things were different, this specific part, the idea of not having Naminé around anymore, it hurt. Outside of her own father, Xion had never felt like she needed a person in her life before, mostly preferring books to the company of people, but it was different with her.

Xion took the cup with her to the library. While Naminé had said she was supposed to sleep in the dungeon, she hadn’t forbidden Xion from going there at all.

She put the cup next to her bed and picked up the book she had started the previous night, trying to lose herself in a fictional world before her own thoughts swallowed her.

Naminé needed to open up to someone, whatever she was holding inside seemed like it was choking her. And while Xion wished she would be the person Naminé chose, anyone would be better than Naminé going through all this alone.

Xion just wanted her to be alright.

She just didn’t want to lose her.


	7. Chapter 7

The past week had been… uneventful.

Xion kept waiting for something to happen, when it seemed like Naminé was so close to doing whatever it was she wanted to do, but… nothing.

Until, that was, the last day of her punishment for finding out about that boy came.

The day was mostly normal, but as Xion prepared to go to sleep, Naminé showed up in her cell.

“Naminé,” Xion said, surprised. Naminé had mostly pretended she didn’t exist after what happened. “Can I help you with anything?”

Naminé stared at her without a word for a long moment.

And then she took Xion’s wrist and started pulling her somewhere, still without explaining what she was doing. Xion followed along, mostly sure whatever Naminé wanted wouldn’t damage her in any way.

After they reached Naminé’s potion room, Naminé sat Xion down in a chair next to the bed the man was sleeping in.

“Everyone tells me I need to talk, so there it is. We’re talking,” Naminé finally said, conjuring another chair and sitting on it.

“You’re going to tell me the whole story?” Xion asked, surprised. She couldn’t help but be curious about it.

“It’s not a fun story. But my latest efforts to help Sora have failed, so I might as well try to talk it over with someone else to get a new idea.”

“Sora,” Xion repeated. It wasn’t a name she had ever heard before, she didn’t think, but...

“I haven’t always been the Dark One. I was a normal girl, once. And then I met… him. Not Sora, I already knew him, another man. His name was Marluxia.”

“I’ve heard about him. He was a hero, right? Books speak well of his conquests,” Xion remembered.

“Books don’t tell the whole story. Marluxia had a partner in crime, Larxene, but when I say partner… I guess you could say I mean slave.”

Xion had never heard about her, but if Marluxia kept a slave, it made sense he would have kept that a secret.

“Marluxia died in mysterious circumstances, right? Did you have something to do with it?” Xion asked.

“That comes later. The thing about being the Dark One is that your living is tied to a dagger. It holds your name, it’s the only thing that can kill you and, most importantly, whoever has it controls your every move.”

“And Larxene was the Dark One before you.”

“Marluxia was having trouble with Larxene. As time went on, she got closer to stealing back the dagger, and he wanted someone new. Someone he had an easier time controlling. And desperate people will do anything. He found me and I was… I was desperate. I was in love, with a man from my village, Sora. And while I would tell you now that magic can’t force love, I didn’t have much knowledge of magic at that point.”

“You were in love…” Xion whispered, not quite understanding why being aware that Naminé loved the sleeping man affected her so much.

“Marluxia told me about the dagger, how I could use it to get power for myself at the small cost of Larxene’s life. He hid the dagger somewhere, pretended he didn’t have it so I wouldn’t know about the control part of the equation. I killed her, like her life meant nothing. And then, before I could know what happened next, he showed up and took the dagger from me.”

“You became his slave,” Xion said.

“Yes. Perhaps I deserved it, for taking someone’s life due to my desire to be loved, but… I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Not even on Marluxia himself. The issue wasn’t that Marluxia just wanted a new slave, he took pleasure from having me mold Sora into a whole new being, he had me take away his memories. One day, I was so tired of it I managed to get the dagger back. And then I promised Sora I’d make his memories come back. I put him to sleep so I could do it, but I’ve never been able to find a way to restore them.”

Xion looked at Naminé, realizing how much she still suffered over actions that weren’t even her fault.

“That’s… I remember you said you had a new lead after the whole deal with King Ansem, what happened?” Xion asked.

“It was a prophecy, I thought it meant I needed fairy magic to make it right, but it didn’t work out.”

“Fairy magic?” Xion asked, a thought going through her head. She hadn’t seen her in a while, but she did have a fairy friend, after all.

“I’ve tried everything, and I still don’t have the right answer! If Sora wakes up now, everyone he cared about will be dead. I suppose he can find new friends, and even love, but I’m not sure if I truly want to do something like that to him.”

“But you can’t give up!” Xion said. “I think… I think maybe we need the help of a fairy, if the fairy magic prophecy is right, I know one, I can get in contact with her!”

“Fairies do nothing!” Naminé said. “I’ve tried contacting fairies in the past, but they don’t care about anyone but whoever the shiny new hero king is.”

“And they wouldn’t help the Dark One,” Xion realized. “Kairi’s different, though.”

“If I don’t manage to find another solution, I’ll ask you to contact this fairy friend of yours, but I wouldn’t expect much. It says something that she didn’t help you with your little war. Fairies talk big, but everyone turns to the feared Witch instead for a reason.”

Xion understood her point, but… maybe Kairi could help. Her power was too controlled by the higher ups for her to actually be useful in the war, but any fairy would want to help reverse the memory spell. It just meant helping someone, and that’s what fairies were supposed to do.

“I’ll help you find a way to save him,” Xion promised.

“We’re probably going to be here a long time, then,” Naminé said, sounding amused. But Xion caught a look on her eye she didn’t understand.

“Do any of the books you found for me have any magic stuff on them? I haven’t seen any,” Xion asked.

“If there is a book on memory magic, I have already read it. Memory magic is… extremely complicated, most sorcerers steer clear from it, and I don’t blame them. I know it better than most, after all my research, and even then there’s so much I don’t understand.”

“True Love’s Kiss can solve anything, though, right?”

“Supposedly. But seeing as I’m clearly not Sora’s true love and everyone else he knows is dead, we’re out of luck on that front.”

Xion wondered if Naminé had tried, but thought it was better not to ask.

She didn’t really wanna know, anyway.

But it wasn’t time to think about what that meant.


	8. Chapter 8

Kairi wasn’t exactly a friend.

Faeries usually only became Fairy Godmothers of people with great destinies, like Kings and Queens or great heroes. So, in that sense, no one had understood why Kairi - or, the Pink Fairy, as she was known to most - had become Xion’s.

Xion was the daughter of a small Lord, she barely had a title, much less a great destiny. But she had been chosen to have a Fairy Godmother anyway, and while nothing much had ever come from it, Xion liked Kairi.

She remembered being a small child, being gifted her first real book by Kairi, who sometimes got real quiet when Xion told her of the love stories in her books. Faeries weren’t allowed to fall in love, Kairi said, and it seemed like a terrible thing to a young Xion. She had later come to realize - when asked to choose between betraying her people or marrying Vanitas - that faeries weren’t the only ones who couldn’t allow themselves to love.

“You know, I really think we should just go ahead and contact Kairi,” Xion said, looking up from her book in the corner of the potions room while Naminé tried yet another potion filled with fairy magic.

“I’m running out of pixie dust, so I might as well try out this fairy of yours if this one fails,” Naminé said, and Xion was a bit surprised she was finally willing to try that, considering how the past two weeks had gone.

Xion just smiled when Naminé looked at her, and went back to reading. With any luck this would work, and if not… Kairi could help. She had to.

And fail the potion did, after all.

Xion had a way to contact Kairi at all times, but hadn’t had any reason to use it since Kairi admitted the Blue Fairy wouldn’t let her help in the war.

And then, getting into the potions room through the window, a small pink fairy grew to reveal Kairi. Xion grinned and hugged her, having missed her Fairy Godmother.

“Xion, it’s good to see you,” Kairi said. “I heard what happened from your father, but I knew I couldn’t get you out of a deal with the Dark One, so I thought best to stay put until you…” Kairi trailed off when she noticed Naminé was in the room with them.

“Fairy,” Naminé said, looking with distaste to Kairi, but clearly holding back on her real disdain for faeries.

“Dark One. Why am I here?” Kairi asked.

“We need your help, Kairi,” Xion said, holding Kairi’s hand.

“We?” Kairi asked, looking from Naminé back at Xion. “I’m not sure I’m allowed to help the Dark One in any way.”

“Then let’s keep this under wraps, shall we?” Naminé said, summoning a piece of parchment. “See if you can figure out what this means, I know it’s a fairy thing, but using pixie dust to make fairy magic wasn’t enough.

Kairi seemed a bit spooked about the whole thing, but she did look over the prophecy, her eyebrows raising as she got to the end.

“This is a fairy prophecy,” Kairi said. “Why are you interested in making anything from a fairy prophecy come true?”

Naminé didn’t answer, just waited for Kairi to say anything useful.

Xion could get that, because their one shot at saving Sora made her think they needed less questions. But she did understand why Kairi would be hesitant to help, all things considered.

“There’s someone we need to save, and this prophecy is the key.”

Kairi read through the prophecy a few more times. “It’s not really fairy magic it’s looking for, it’s just generally… one fairy. Which isn’t quite the same thing. One specific fairy is probably going to be hard to find, though, because the Blue Fairy wouldn’t agree to help the Dark One even if it meant making a fairy prophecy come true.”

“Reul Ghorm once again proves to be useless,” Naminé said, sitting down forcefully in her usual chair.

“Maybe I can pretend I’m trying to do it by myself? Naminé could be the big evil I’m trying to save Sora from.”

And then something a bit weird happened.

Because Kairi froze, the parchment still in her hands falling down as she looked at Xion. “S-Sora?”

“Yeah, he’s this guy Naminé was kind of forced to screw over like a century ago, we’re trying to fix him,” Xion said, not sure what Kairi’s reaction was all about.

“A century,” Kairi repeated weakly.

Naminé raised an eyebrow and leaned over interestedly. “Sora was around about a century ago, yes. 19 years old, brown hair, real pretty, liked by pretty much everyone in our village and worked in the fairy mines. The thing I do want to know is, are the mines how you know him?”

Kairi didn’t answer for a while, seemingly in battle with herself. “I… met him. I was a young fairy then, and I had some trouble with… rules. Of course, nothing I would do now, but a century ago… he was nice. We talked big of running away together so I didn’t have to be a fairy. He never showed, and I knew it was a sign that I had to keep going.”

That… was not quite what Xion had been expecting. Not that she would have seen it coming in any way, but even after realizing they knew each other, ‘old lovers’ was not what she would have thought. Kairi was… by the rules, the one who kept her in check as a child. Who knew she had once been wild?

It was weird to think that Kairi had been considering running away at that time. That it probably would have happened, if it wasn’t for Marluxia’s actions.

“Well, Xion,” Naminé said, a sharp look in her eyes Xion had never seen before. “We get to test your theory after all. True Love’s Kiss is the most powerful magic, really.”

“Wait there!” Kairi said, realizing what Naminé was implying. “I’m a fairy. We don’t have true loves or anything. I was just… young.”

“He still is and you probably look the same age you did then. Unless you have another story of lost loves along the way, he is likely the only one who has ever held your heart,” Naminé grinned, but in the fake way she did when making deals.

“What happened to him?”

“Memory spells. It’s a tricky branch of magic, and his memories are scattered enough he wouldn’t be able to remember most things. It’s why I froze him in sleep. But love is the only thing that can stay even when your memories are gone, which means that if he’s once loved you, he still does,” Naminé said, and got up to open the door to the room she kept Sora in.

Kairi looked at his still form, and no one could have missed the sound she made just then.

Xion looked away, not wanting to intrude in what could be a big moment. She didn’t follow Kairi and Naminé in, and they were talking to each other quietly enough she couldn’t hear. It was for the best, though she did feel it when it happened. A moment that felt like everything around her had changed, the way books talked of true love.

She couldn’t hear what happened afterwards either, but she thought it was by design, from seeing the way Naminé, who had left the room, was looking at the wall intently.

“It worked, then?” Xion asked, thought she was sure she knew the answer.

“It hurts less than I thought it would,” Naminé said, and it was an admission Xion wasn’t expecting from her.

“It has been a long time.”

“Right…” Naminé nodded, but the look in her eye as she looked at Xion made Xion think she was missing something.

“I’m glad everything worked out,” Xion said. “I… hope they’ll find a way, even with all the fairy rules and stuff. If they’ve been given a second chance… they need to take it.”

“Which brings us to what I’m supposed to do with you.”

“What?”

“You went above and beyond, by solving my centuries old conundrum within less than a month of knowing about it. That means, of course, that anything you owed me is now even. Which means you can go,” Naminé said, her eyes sharp.

Xion just stared at her. She couldn’t have heard it right. She hadn’t even been there for that long, and the deal was supposed to last forever. And it was just… forgiven? Because she happened to have been born having the same Fairy Godmother that had once been in love with the same man as Naminé?

Which… seemed like a bit too much of a coincidence. Maybe that was why she had had a Fairy Godmother in the first place when by all means she had no reason to. True love had a way of working out, and her part to play was reuniting Sora and Kairi. It made sense, because Xion herself had never mattered enough for anyone. That Naminé was giving up on her proved that.

“So that’s… that’s it?” Xion asked.

“Whenever Sora and Kairi finish doing whatever they’re doing in there and leave, you’ll go with them,” Naminé decided, like it was final.

And any other person would have been happy about this, Xion thought. The idea of getting away from a deal like that.

And she was happy, really, but…

Why did part of her want to stay?


End file.
